While the COVID-19 pandemic has crippled many industries, it has boosted others. The beauty industry has seen a huge increase in sales, with countless people flocking to natural and cruelty-free products. Once difficult to find, this genre of cosmetics and skincare items has become commonplace. If you want unbiased advice on what to buy, head over to Beauty Brite.
Founded in November of 2010 by Stephanie Fatta, this lifestyle blog started off as a place for people to share DIY beauty recipes. It then branched out to Stephanie and her team sharing reviews of products they had purchased, not been given, and sharing honest feedback. With a lifelong commitment to natural and cruelty-free products, Stephanie continued to post these reviews until she established herself as a trusted beauty advisor.
Source: Instagram
Today, this is a successful and respected brand. The blog covers makeup, skincare, overall wellness, organic products, family advice, and tips on going green. A single mom to an autistic son, Stephanie is a champion of autism awareness, including several postings about this social issue on her blog. Also, it is a strong supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and offers a comprehensive guide to vetted black-owned businesses.
As the pandemic has forced more people to stay indoors, they are discovering online resources to offer advice on new products or things they have been curious about. As transparency in the beauty industry is trending, more consumers than ever are finding out exactly what is in the products they are using. Those who are vegan, vegetarian, or simply oppose animal testing, have learned disturbing truths about what is in their skincare products and makeup. As people seek cruelty-free items with no animal byproducts, this brand is an established source for this information.
Vegan, cruelty-free beauty products used to be tough to find. Today, they are a noticeable category in this global multi-billion-dollar industry. And please dispel the myth that these products are more expensive because there are options for nearly every budget. Cover Girl, a leading drugstore beauty brand for decades, went cruelty-free in 2018. This means that none of their products or ingredients are tested on animals anywhere in the world. The same requirements apply to the company’s suppliers. This was a huge leap forward as Cover Girl is one of the biggest names in beauty.
Source: Allure
Other names you might recognize are Burt’s Bees, Glossier, Iredsle Cosmetics, Inc., Juice Beauty, Jouer Cosmetics, Mad Hippie, Mineral Fusion, OFRA Cosmetics, Supergoop!, Thrive Causemetics, The Body Shop, and Wander Beauty. All of these brands, like Cover Girl, are Leaping Bunny certified. This list includes color cosmetics and skincare but if you look under just color cosmetics on the Leaping Bunny Shopping guide, the list gets a lot more extensive.
Brands are becoming more socially conscious and listening not only to customers but influential voices like Stephanie’s. Beauty blogs are an unmatched source of market research for companies because they can see firsthand exactly what people do and do not want. Plus, this information is completely free, there is no need to spend time and money on a complex research study. For new and existing companies wondering if they should take the step to become cruelty-free, spaces can be the litmus test they are looking for.
The internet has exposed a lot of secrets, especially those in the beauty industry. A quick search on animal byproducts in cosmetics turns up (unsettling) results like crushed bones, tendons, shark liver oil, placenta, and even cow urine. Yes, you read that correctly. This is why those who are not vegan or vegetarian are opting for products without animal byproducts. Eating a steak is one thing, slathering on an item containing cow waste is a whole different ballgame.
Source: Medium
Even if your skincare and cosmetics do not contain animal byproducts, the question remains whether or not they were tested on animals. These grotesque practices have been banned by many countries which is a major step forward. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to eliminate animal testing all together.
In the United States, the Humane Society is trying to get the Humane Cosmetics Act passed. This is a federal law that would eliminate animal testing and the sale of animal-tested products. For more information on brands that do not test on animals, the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC) is an excellent resource.
Fair warning, just because a company claims to be cruelty-free or not test on animals, this can be very misleading. There is no legal definition of these terms, but companies can still use them without restriction. If you want to use something with a clear conscious, do your research before listening to unregulated marketing.
Source: A Humane World
COVID has made people conscious of their health and driven the demand for cleaner and more sustainable products. Once more, Stephanie’s blog serves as a one-stop guide for a multitude of products, not just those in the beauty category. As has grown, major companies are reaching out to Stephanie for her much-desired endorsement. Those who do make it through her vetting process are practically guaranteed a bump in sales thanks to a legion of loyal followers.
Stephanie and the Beauty Brite brand fall under the category of online enablers. This is defined as online personalities that enable customers to find items they are looking for by promoting businesses that fall in line with their philosophies. Essentially, it is pairing up a target audience with products that meet that audience’s specific requirements.
So for those who prefer their serums to not contain animal glands and are looking for a red lipstick that isn’t made from crushed beetles, they can steer you in the right direction. What began as a hobby has turned into a sought-after brand, yet Stephanie is humbled by the success as she simply wants to provide a virtual gathering place for like-minded people. She has certainly achieved this, and with a larger number of guests than she ever expected.
